Training
Training went well in the lead up. This was my 2015 ‘A’ race after I failed to get an entry to Barca full IM in October. 2 one hour sessions a day on average with longer sessions at the weekend but overall volume was definitely less than training for a full Ironman. Probably peaked at 20 – 25 hours a week if you factored in prep and recovery. Again most of it alone although hooked up with training partners for some longer cycles. The piranha WWT week in the Algarve was also a key prep. I would strongly recommend anyone planning a big race year to do it – it’s also great fun!
Key sessions each week included ‘the long run’ – an 18 mile easy run to the end of bull wall and back to Sandycove. This was interspersed with some faster interval work on the treadmill and a weekly 8 – 10 mile tempo run. I also did the race bike course 5 times in lead up in different conditions in full race mode at 5am with no city traffic which meant I knew the bike course intimately. (You know your triathlete when you get up at 5am but don’t get to work until 9am!!) This gave me great confidence for the race day as I knew a fast bike was possible if conditions were favourable – light winds and dry roads.
As I live in Sandycove 200 metres from swim start this race was always going to be a little different. Having spent the last number of years travelling to the continent to race full IM, to do any IM on your doorstep well that’s pretty special. Again I did a few training swims in Scotsman’s bay. I therefore felt it could be tricky even if conditions were comparably favourable. 35 mins was possible on a good day by 40 mins or more was likely if any chop or current.
Did Athlone national middle distance champs 3 weeks before and it went really well. 4 hours 30 mins (70.3 PB) first in age group 50 – 54 and 13th place overall. Before that did the double Olympic in Athy as a warm up not so good but in hindsight great prep. Week before Dublin IM ran the DLR Bay 10 k and placed 6th overall 35.46 so again it was all pointing towards a good day if I stayed injury free.
Transition Set up
No major dramas all very smooth. Registered Thursday before to take pressure off the weekend. Was able to get the practise swim in on Saturday morning and do all the other logistics on Saturday and finish up by around 3pm. Even the placement of the bags for my race number 2299 in both transitions seemed to be favourable – look for all the positives right! Happy days! Very different from Roth last year where a similar split transition was a nightmare where we only finalised set up 10.30 pm the night before. (Maybe non local competitors in Dublin had a different experience though!) A few little tummy issues night before which turned out to be nerves.
Weather forecast was for light south easterly winds with dry conditions. My wave was off 7.50am which was also the scheduled high tide so again this all looked good. Race day conditions proved to be somewhat different though.
Race morning
Slept well, light breakfast, usual ‘forced’ toilet visit. Walked down to check out bike and add water bottle all fine and then went home again to finish my cuppa! Changing into your website in your own living room for an IM is unusual and I bet not many have had the privilege. This all added to the home ‘advantage’ feel of the race. Got down to swim start early – met a few piranhas and other familiar tri heads. Met a guy who had travelled from Australia just to do IM Dublin. Wow and I had travelled 200 metres – was this good karma for a reverse visit. Great atmosphere, tension and excitement building. Felt completely relaxed and very focussed. Also what struck me was how well everything had gone including the swim start which can be attributed to the fantastic organisation and attention to detail by JM and his team. Everyone knew their role. At this stage though you just want to get in there. The race start was a rolling land start. This was the most civilised swim start I have ever had in an IM race. You eased into it!
Swim start
Mantra for swim was to stay switched on / focussed and keep the head slightly higher in the water. I think in past races I have not got the most out as I switched off and just ambled through it. This time I was determined to stay focussed from the get go. The higher head was just a little technical adjustment to aid better body position and ease of sighting. If the thought itself gives you confidence then why not use it – placebo effect!
Got into a rhythm straightaway, none of the usual argy-bargy. Sighting cleanly, stayed straight-ish. Pushed on. Got choppier approaching the first 1 km buoy, had experienced similar conditions on training swims. Knew the second half would be harder so dug in and kept focus on moving forward. Started passing some of the pink hats (unusual for me) in wave ahead which was a defo confidence booster. Starting feeling like a long time in the water though, started to second guess myself – was I having a bad swim?
Got to the pontoon exit, quick look at watch, just over 40 mins. Shite! Was my top end time scenario and I felt slightly deflated and well lost some confidence to be honest. Slow transition as well compounded the feeling of playing more catch up than normal – read in here crap swimmer. (Check out this really great inspiring video of the swim start in Sandy cove and I dare you not to sign up for next year http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Tjtgbjr02A
Bike
Out on the bike found my legs comparatively quicker than normal. First 16 km or so into Phoenix Park was always going to be fast. Mantra for bike was literally to hold the highest sustained effort I could at all times ‘ go hard or go home baby!’ Not riding on power or heart rate. Speedometer and distance covered were only reference markers on bike computer although had good potential time splits in memory bank from the training rides.
Heard a rattling noise on the bike from the get go though. Shite! Should I stop and check it out! Is it a problem, will it be a problem? It did not seem to impact current speed or performance so I decided to try to ignore it. These things play with your head though. It was there throughout but I was able to put in to the back of my mind after a while. Also on a race simulation training ride 3 weeks before with a tri mate Lawrence his tri bars literally failed at 40km per hour just after Maynooth on that fast stretch at 45 kms resulting in a hard fall, ambulance emergency call out and a resulting 4 way break of his collar bone . End of his race and all those hard months training wasted! That incident freaked me out and was part of the ‘ mind games’ going on in my head in those early stages during the bike leg.
I mentioned earlier the weather was not as planned as it now started to drizzle and the wind was hurting being I thought from a West / North West direction. Again this made for slippery conditions particularly on the 90 degree corners of which there were quite a few on the course. Was like a novice going round them to be honest to be absolutely safe. Was slightly down on target splits at Phoenix park and then again at Dunboyne but was confident 2nd half would be quicker as drying out and wind would be helping. It was!
Nutrition was fine planned taking 5 gels, one every half hour and I did with one 500 ml of water throughout the full bike leg. Didn’t need aid stations therefore. Felt really strong from Kilcock through Maynooth and into Lucan before going down the Strawberry Beds road – was it 22 speed bumps or did I miscount? Was on target for sub 2.30 bike which was always the pre-race ‘acceptable’ end target. Had done 2.24 in training. Hill at 85 Km at Anglers Rest pub took some extra sting out of the legs but pushed on hard feeling like I could go on and “make up” for that swim. (After the race I think a number of competitors including some pros had 2.1 km on their Garmin’s for the swim?)
Run
Good T2, very smooth, no major wardrobe changes planned and got out running and hit my stride quickly. Within 500 – 800 metres I felt yep give this one a lash as I was definitely in the right condition at that moment in this race to do a fast run time. Had done 1.23 in Athlone National champs on the 21km run so was aiming for that and with the flatter road surface who knows even faster.
I just pushed as hard as I could. I had really trained the run hard and it was paying off. I was just about aerobic all the way (perceived effort). The crowds were great. My wife and daughter were vocal when I passed them at the roundabout crossover point on Chesterfield Ave. The crowds generally were fantastic on the run, very vocal and lots of them. Met loads of Piranha’s on the run course and the regular shouts of go piranha from the supporters added to the magic.
With full IM I think you pace yourself a little more but with the half its eyeballs out. Downed 3 gels on the run – one per lap. It was a blast going so well. At times all I could hear was the footsteps of the runners around me I was that ‘zoned out’. By half way I turned to full on positivity about the race. All the previous negative angst was forgotten. I was making ground and who knows maybe still in with a squeak of that elusive slot at the world champs. That was the goal from the outset and now it felt well why not let’s go for it.
This spurred me on even more on the run and I pushed even harder. I was passed by Fraser Cartmel (Scottish Pro) at one point though which was confusing. You’re going well but not that well. In fact turned out he was having a mare due to technical issues with the bike.
Last 1km really put the foot down. Checked watch and recalibrated a new target of sub 1.25 for the run. Finishing shoot was great but no time to celebrate just yet. Crossed the line and saw my overall time go up 4.41.53. At this stage I thought well is that good or bad? 11 mins down on Athlone. Your just don’t know. Bad swim maybe, but good bike and run? Met my wife just after the finish line and a friend checked the live IM website checker – 1st in Category and 55th overall.
Well I started to cry like a baby – tears of joy, relief, pride the whole 9 yards. I said to my wife and daughter at that moment though is this worth it? All the training hours, missed social gatherings, early mornings, impossibly large double dinners etc. . . . I’d achieved my goal but it was hard from the get go on race day. It felt fast but it was always painful pushing hard. Even though I had won the slot I coveted so much and had placed high overall in an IM race as a 50 year old – was it really worth all the effort?
In short I reckoned yes. What else would I do with my time?
Post race
Discussion then began around whether I would take the slot for World Champs in Australia next year. Long way to go, a lot of expense…. We decided I’d pay the fee and then decide later. We might end up writing off the euros 333 entrance fee but hey it’s an opportunity you don’t get every day.
Little tip if you do find yourself in the running for a slot at the roll down allocation of an IM race bring some photo ID. I went to pay and the guy asked me for mine. Eh I don’t have one with me. Took half an hour of frantic calls home to no avail but Mister JW stepped in to ‘trouble shoot’ this one and eventually we got it sorted. Another tip – never leave it until the end as you might get an unwanted throwaway slot from another category entirely!
Writing this on approach to Dublin airport after 10 days holidays in Fuerteventura feeling very bloated from the food and alcohol binge (sorry couldn’t help at this year’s DCT as a result of getting back late). It’s back to training next week. Why, well would else would you do? Well done to all the Piranha Tri members competing on all their great performances and PB’s a plenty.
A big thank you to my family for all their support. Well done to everyone involved in organising and marshalling the race in particular the unpaid volunteers many of them fellow piranha members. You were all fantastic. Here’s to next year, can’t wait!!
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